Come back to me
by bohena
Summary: Natalia gets the shock of her life at the Bauer's 4th of July picnic


**Come back to me.**

It took several weeks for Rafe to finally adjust to his mother's new relationship, but finally, after listening to Frank and watching the women together, he understood what his mother must have felt. It was neither an "itch to scratch" nor a fleeting flirtation. He could see that his mother was truly in love and happy. It was known to him that his mother had been sneaking around with Olivia, trying not to let him or others see them together. He felt disgraced by this but also intrigued by how much his mother had changed from what he knew of her. He hadn't seen her happy in a long time, and seeing the smile that crossed her face every time she accidentally ran into Olivia, made him feel guilty and conscious of the fact that he was the reason they snuck around.

Finally, one day he cornered his mother and questioned her.

"Ma, where are you going this late in the evening? Don't you have to be up early for work tomorrow?" he asked.

"I need to go out and get a few things. I'll only be a little while," was her reply.

He looked into her eyes with his, revealing that he knew she was lying to him. "I'll go with you. It's too late to go by yourself."

Stuttering a little, she replied, "I'll manage. Really, you won't even notice I'm gone."

"Are you going to meet up with her?" he finally asked.

Immediately her lips pursed and she ended up biting down on her upper lip. "Yes," she finally acknowledged. "I plan to meet Olivia." She looked guilty, as if caught in a trap with nowhere to go.

Rafe placed one hand on her shoulder, and then moved it to her cheek, pulling her head in a direction so that they looked into each other's eyes. "It's ok," he said. "I think I finally understand how you feel, and I hope that if this relationship makes you happy. I guess I was disturbed at first because it seemed perverted and against everything I was taught. But I've come to realize and learn that you love her and she loves you, and that can't be bad. I love you and want you to be happy."

Natalia had tears in her eyes. "Rafe!" was all she could say at first, as she grabbed a hold of him and brought him into a hug. "I love you too! I will always love you, but my heart has a lot of room in it…for other people…not just you and your Dad. I am in love with Olivia and I love her daughter, Emma as if she was my own daughter."

And with this admission, the sneaking around stopped. Olivia and Emma were invited to visit the farmhouse for picnics and movie night. Though it was a little awkward at first, Rafe began to enjoy catching the two women smile at lovingly each other or seeing them try, undetected, to casually touch one another. They were discrete, but if one watched them long enough, it was obvious what they were doing.

And so, they became a family once more and decided to accept the invitation to the Bauer's 4th of July Picnic. Olivia and Natalia were both blown away by the fact that they were both listed on the same invitation. It was the first public acknowledgment that they were together.

It was a grand ole time! Playing games with Emma and the other children, eating great food, and reminiscing over cocktails and apple pie. The family seemed to glow as they celebrated the day. Liv and Nat watched their children play in the grass; Emma was showing Rafe how to make snow angles in the grass. What fun! What bliss! They were beginning to notice that they had smiled all day long, as both women rubbed their own cheeks.

But soon things would forever change. Frank Cooper crashed the party. He had said that he had other plans, wanting to spend some time catching up on old police files, but here, unexpectedly, he showed up at the picnic with a tired looking, drawn face. As he entered the back yard, he looked for Natalia, and when he spotted her, he strode to her and handed her a letter. "I stopped by the farm to see if Rafe wanted to go for a run, and a messenger had just dropped off this letter. I figured I could find you here," he said, nodding to Olivia, but then he continued "And figured it might be important, so I brought it for you."

Nat opened the letter and began to silently read. Eventually she looked up at Olivia with the strangest looking, dumbfounded face. She re-read the letter and turned away from the onlookers, realizing that everyone had stopped to see what was in the special delivery that Frank brought to the party.

The arm holding the letter dropped to one side. She slowly turned to Olivia with tears building up in her eyes and shook her head. "It can't be," was all she said before the color drained from her face and she fainted, falling to the grassy surface.

When she woke up, she was on the couch inside the living room of the Bauer house with Rick Bauer kneeling at her side. He asked the others to give her some space and then asked her how she was feeling. She felt water rolling down her face and her hair was wet. Someone had splashed her with a drink in an attempt to rouse her. In her hand, she clung to the letter.

"I'm alright!" she gasped as she tried to lift her head.

"Steady! You just fainted." returned Frank as he took a step toward the couch.

Olivia, Emma, and Rafe stood in the corner of the living room with fearful looks on their faces.

"I'm ok, really! I just felt a little weak." Natalia looked over to Emma, who was crying from the frightful experience of seeing her other mommy fall to the ground. "I'm ok, honey," she smiled and with that, lifted her body up into a sitting position. "Can everyone just go back to the picnic, please?" she pleaded. She looked at Olivia with an almost sorry look and said once more, "I'm ok. I must not have eaten enough."

When everyone left the room, Olivia asked Frank to watch Emma and she and Rafe moved to the couch. Both could tell something in the letter caused her to collapse. Olivia looked into her eyes and reached for her hand. She held it gently. "What is it?" she asked.

Feeling the letter in her hand, her gaze once more returned to it. She opened it up once again and stared at it. "It…It said that Nick, Gus, is alive…it says that he's been undercover for a year, that he had to fake his own death so he could work on some diamond caper in San Crystobal." She could hardly believe what she had just said.

Rafe reached for the letter, asking "Is this a joke?" And then began to read the content. His mouth opened but nothing was uttered.

Olivia was next "Honey, how can this be? I have his heart. There's no way he survived the accident. This has got to be a mistake…or a cruel, cruel joke" and then her voice trailed off. "But of course, this is Springfield and it always seems like people are dead and then they reappear when it's inconvenient…May I read the letter?" she asked.

As she read it out loud, the others sobbed.

"Natalia, This letter is going to startle you at first quite a bit, and I'm sorry for that, but I am alive and well in Japan. I had to fake my own death, and go under cover in order to investigate a series of jewelry smuggling rings in San Crystalbol and was able to infiltrate a group that orchestrated the stealing of the crown jewels. Honey, truly I'm ok, and am hoping to bring both you to Japan for the honeymoon we never had. I hope you are well and that Rafe is ok. I miss you both terribly and have arranged for you, my wife and my son, to join me. I feel just awful that I had to do what I did, but it was the only way to rid myself of any identity. The tickets for your plane can be picked up at the airport; they are open-ended tickets, so you can leave when you wish, but I am hopeful you will be on the next plane that leaves. I would return to you but I need to rebuild my identity, now that the case is over. Please forgive me and please come back to me. Your Husband, Gus"

Olivia looked up from the letter towards Natalia. "This has got to be a fake. They said at the hospital that I had his heart. They said he was dead!" She's crying now, as the realization of what all of this means is beginning to set in on her. "It's not possible! It can't be!"

Natalia looked back at her, into her green eyes and replied, "Anything is possible. Look at us."


End file.
